Nontoxic rodent repellents are a fast growing segment of the building improvement industry, food processing, and food preparation areas. Rodents are carriers of communicable diseases, and thus preventing them from resting or congregating on the interior or exterior structures of public buildings is particularly important because of health and sanitation concerns.
Compositions that are effective in repelling rodents, while exhibiting acceptable characteristics in terms of appearance, odor, and the like, are not readily formulated. If the composition has a strong repellent odor, it can actually be offensive to people within a short distance of the composition, thus reducing the likelihood that the composition will be tolerable in public places. If the repellent component is too weak or insufficiently dispersed in the composition, the composition will not be sufficiently effective. If a composition does not remain adhered to a rodent's feet after initial contact, the repellent in the composition may not take full effect.
There are a number of products that have been employed to repel birds. In U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005-0025796, multiple repellent agents are used in a bird repellent composition. Capsaicin and menthol are used, in addition to carbomer gel, thickener, and water.
Another existing composition that contains capsaicin for repelling birds is marketed under the trademark Tanglefoot Bird Repellent™ by The Tanglefoot Company of Grand Rapids, Mich. It is composed of one repelling agent and one combined thickening, filling and dispersing agent. However, the composition lacks sufficient dispersion of the repelling agent because it has insufficient types of dispersal agents in the composition to provide maximum dispersal of the repellent. It also lacks sufficient tackifying qualities to sufficiently adhere the composition to the targeted species birds.
Nontoxic repellents for rodents (e.g., mice, rats, moles, voles, squirrels, chipmunks, and the like) are also commercially available. Such nontoxic formulations can emit the odor of predators (coyotes, foxes) or emit odors that are unpleasant to rodents (citronella, peppermint, menthol).